Free online PTB to MSCZ converter

Power Tab Editor saves guitar and bass scores as PTB files, while MuseScore uses MSCZ for editable scores. Convert the file when you need to continue editing it in MuseScore or share it with someone who uses that format.

What the PTB format is

PTB is the native score format of Power Tab Editor, a Windows program for writing guitar and bass tablature alongside standard notation. A file can contain multiple tracks, tuning, timing, tempo, and score markings; it is a score file, not an audio recording.

What the MSCZ format is

MSCZ is MuseScore’s compressed native score format. It stores an editable score and is suitable for opening, revising, and sharing work in MuseScore; it is not a playback audio file.

How to convert PTB to MSCZ

Online on 101convert.com

1. Upload the PTB file on the converter page. Several files can be selected for batch conversion; the per-file size limit is shown there.
2. Choose MSCZ as the output format and start the conversion. The conversion runs on the site’s server with MuseScore.
3. Download the converted MSCZ file or files.

Offline with desktop software

Use TuxGuitar to open the PTB file and export it as MusicXML, then use MuseScore to save the MusicXML score as MSCZ. TuxGuitar runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux; MuseScore is also available for those desktop systems.

1. In TuxGuitar, open the PTB file with File → Open, then export it through File → Export → MusicXML. Save the intermediate file with an .musicxml or .xml extension.
2. Open that MusicXML file in MuseScore with File → Open. Check the imported score, then choose File → Save As and save it as an MSCZ file.

Quality and compatibility

MusicXML is an intermediate format, so inspect the result in MuseScore: tablature positions, instrument tuning, bends, slides, articulations, and other notation details may not transfer exactly. Keep the original PTB file if you may need to compare or recover details.